Museum of Fine Arts Boston Asian Galleries Brochure Study
Spring 1990

Principal Researcher: Abigail Housen
Senior Research Associate: Karin DeSantis

Treatment: Use/non-use of gallery brochure

Assessment tools: Aesthetic Development Interviews, questionnaires, observations

Subjects: 59 randomly-selected adult gallery visitors; 17 invited subjects
Total Subjects: 76

Findings:

The brochure was not used by gallery visitors. The exterior of the brochure was designed for one stage while interior for another. While subjects appear to represent a homogeneous group of experienced museumgoers (frequency & length of visits, use of educational materials) because of different stages they have divergent learning needs: structured vs. unstructured reading materials.

Site Coordinator: Barbara Martin